This week is a special episode featuring interviews with two guests, James Randi and D.J. Grothe.

James Randi is a world-renowned magician and the modern-day Houdini of skepticism. He is the author of numerous books, including Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns and Other Delusions and the forthcoming A Magician in the Laboratory. He is the founder and Chairman of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). This interview was recorded live at The Amaz!ng Meeting 8 in Las Vegas, 2010.

In this interview with Karen Stollznow, Randi reflects on his life’s work. He speaks about his organization and his role as a central figure in skepticism. He also talks about the JREF’s One Million Dollar Challenge, claims he’d like to test, and Sylvia Browne’s infamous reluctance to be tested, despite accepting the challenge.

More recently, Karen spoke with D.J. Grothe, President of the JREF and Host of the podcast For Good Reason. Grothe is the former Vice President for Outreach at the Center for Inquiry, and of course, the former Host of Point of Inquiry.

Grothe speaks about the JREF’s mission, and the greatest successes and challenges of the organization. He discusses his plans to “put the ‘E’ into the JREF” by focusing on education, and talks about his tireless work in skeptical outreach and activism.

Perhaps one indication of the liberal bias of this site is the knee-jerk attitude toward the the likes of Ayn Rand, as well as Friedrich Nietzsche. Given the general position and stated purpose of PoI, I’d be very interested in a reasoned dialog about these influential thinkers, whom some take very seriously. It might inject some fresh vitality, not that I’m suggesting any is needed.

D.J. ended this interview by tossing a scornful reference to both, without backing up his opinion. It’s a commonplace, of course, and never challenged, it seems. I’ve heard Paul Kurtz, Christopher Hitchens and others make similar comments about Rand, contemptuously, and always unexplained. I’d like there to be some genuine inquiry; why is Rand not a suitable, serious topic for this forum? At least as much as Satanism?

D.J. ended this interview by tossing a scornful reference to both, without backing up his opinion. It’s a commonplace, of course, and never challenged, it seems. I’ve heard Paul Kurtz, Christopher Hitchens and others make similar comments about Rand, contemptuously, and always unexplained. I’d like there to be some genuine inquiry; why is Rand not a suitable, serious topic for this forum? At least as much as Satanism?

Sorry, my bad..I thought you were referring to a thread here and not a podcast. I will have to go back and listen to the podcast again. There are some in-depth discussions here about Rand and you could probably find something on Nietzsche.

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Church; where sheep congregate to worship a zombie on a stick that turns into a cracker on Sundays…